CHAPTER I. | INFLUENCE OF CHARACTER. |
CHAPTER II. | HOME POWER. |
CHAPTER III. | COMPANIONSHIP AND EXAMPLES |
CHAPTER IV. | WORK. |
CHAPTER V. | COURAGE. |
CHAPTER VI. | SELF-CONTROL. |
CHAPTER VII. | DUTY—TRUTHFULNESS. |
CHAPTER VIII. | TEMPER. |
CHAPTER IX. | MANNER—ART. |
CHAPTER X. | COMPANIONSHIP OF BOOKS. |
CHAPTER XI. | COMPANIONSHIP IN MARRIAGE. |
CHAPTER XII. | THE DISCIPLINE OF EXPERIENCE. |
FOOTNOTES. | |
"Unless above himself he can Erect himself, how poor a thing is man"—DANIEL. "Character is moral order seen through the medium, of an individual nature.... Men of character are the conscience of the society to which they belong."—EMERSON. "The prosperity of a country depends, not on the abundance of its revenues, nor on the strength of its fortifications, nor on the beauty of its public buildings; but it consists in the number of its cultivated citizens, in its men of education, enlightenment, and character; here are to be found its true interest, its chief strength, its real power."—MARTIN LUTHER.
Character is one of the greatest motive powers in the world. In its noblest embodiments, it exemplifies human nature in its highest forms, for it exhibits man at his best.
Men of genuine excellence, in every station of life—men of industry, of integrity, of high principle, of sterling honesty of purpose—command the spontaneous homage of mankind. It is natural to believe in such men, to have confidence in them, and to imitate them. All that is good in the world is upheld by them, and without their presence in it the world would not be worth living in.
Although genius always commands admiration, character most secures respect. The former is more the product of brain-power, the latter of heart-power; and in the long run it is the heart that rules in life. Men of genius stand to society in the relation of its intellect, as men of character of its conscience; and while the former are admired, the latter ar